Von der Leyen spoke of the larger scope of the project, announcing that France’s Dassault Aviation and European manufacturer Airbus have already signed a contract to produce a concept study for a shared air combat system.

The fighter jet is one component of the Next Generation Weapons System (NGWS), with the manned jet operating in conjunction with other new weapons and swarms of drones linked to it by a so-called combat cloud.

The NGWS is itself part of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project first announced by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July 2017. The project is slated to include a variety of unmanned aircraft and missiles.

(Photo by JOHN THYS / Contributor via Getty Images)

In January, Airbus Defense and Space and Dassault Aviation were awarded a €65 million ($74 million) two-year contract to develop the architecture and manufacturing structure of the new FCAS project. The money will be split 50/50 by the European partners.

Wednesday’s contract signing was the culmination of two years of preparatory work by Airbus, Dassault, Safran and MTU. The French electronics company Thales and European missile maker MBDA will also be participants.

By the time it is finished, the new jet will replace the Eurofighter and Rafale aircrafts currently used by the German and French air forces. Although demonstration flights are scheduled for 2025, the plane is not expected to go into use until 2040.

Von der Leyen, who called Wednesday’s announcements an “important step,” said, “we have to get started now if we want to manage it.” Marly said: “This contract is the very first brick in a stupendous building.”

Partners Welcome

The German defense minister noted that Spain is slated to join the project in the coming months, and a French armed forces representative signaled openness to more European partners getting on board as well.

The multi-billion dollar project was made possible after Germany heeded French calls to exclude Lockheed-Martin from bidding to replace its aging Tornado jets with the US manufacturer’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters last week.